Report: Robert De Niro and wife split after 21 years

ABC/Fred Lee(NEW YORK) — Robert De Niro and his wife of 21 years, Grace Hightower, have called it quits, a source tells People magazine.

The two have separated and are living apart, says the insider, adding, “Sometimes things don’t work out the way you hope or want them to.”

De Niro, 75, and Hightower, 63 met in 1987, and married a decade later. They share two children: son Elliot, 20, and daughter Helen, six.

It’s not the first time the couple has split up. De Niro filed for divorce in 1999 and sued Hightower for custody of Elliot in 2001. The two ultimately resolved their differences, and renewed their vows in 2004.

De Niro will next be seen in the upcoming Joker movie, opposite Joaquin Phoenix, slated for an October 2019 release.